The Boys' Big Criticism of the Avengers Was Totally Destroyed by the MCU
Warning! Spoilers for The Boys below.
A running joke in The Boys doesn't hold the same amount of cache as it once did, as its main criticism of the Avengers was destroyed by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. InThe Boys' universe, the Payback team serves as a stand-in for the Avengers, as it's filled with members who want to join the Seven. However, given how the Avengers have become a household name and have now dwarfed the Justice League as the world's most popular superteam, the commentary doesn't hit the same, as readers are well-aware of the different heroes Payback is parodying as second rate heroes.
In The Boys, the Payback superteam is their parody of Marvel's Avengers. Tek Knight is Iron Man, Soldier Boy is Captain America, Swatto is Ant-Man, Stormfront is their version of Thor, Crimson Countess is Scarlet Witch, Mind-Droid is Vision, and Eagle the Archer is Hawkeye. Payback serves as the second most popular superteam in a world filled with Supes. The superteam will be making their live-action debut in The Boys Amazon series, with Jensen Ackles portraying Soldier Boy and Laurie Holden playing Crimson Countess.
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In The Boys by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, Payback is introduced as a second-rate group of heroes who are the «second most popular superteam» in the universe. The group, a parody of Marvel's Avengers, consists of heroes who would all rather be members of The Seven, but are rejected. Sadly, Soldier Boy even has a sexual relationship with Homelander, hoping that being intimate with the hero will give him the edge on making the leap to the team. However, that never happens. Instead, members of Payback are never welcomed on The
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